Kingdom Hearts: Origins
by Ryan Griffin
Summary: 500 years before Sora first held the Keyblade, another took up the mantle and his story passed into legend. This is the tale of Kaze and his companions, Nanaki and Walt, who first began the war against the Heartless. [UPDATE: Rewrites and Chapter 3]
1. Dreams and Disaster

"See ya!" Sora called out, blasting the Large Body with a Fira spell, clearing the Third District of the Heartless.

"Confounded Heartless!" Donald cried next to him, adjusting his hat, which went askew in the battle, "You'd think when we locked the Keyhole to this place, they'd give up already!"

"No such luck," Goofy said, "Y'think maybe Leon and the others'll know anything about it?"

Sora nodded. "It's worth a shot. I wanted to see him anyway." With that, he let go of the Keyblade, which dissolved in midair, and walked towards the upper part of the Third District.

It was a quick walk to Cid's house, which, despite being small, was the base of Leon and the other protectors of Traverse Town.

"I hope they're here," Donald remarked, "I'd hate to have to swim in the sewers again to get to them…"

Goofy nodded emphatically. "We smelled bad after that."

Donald said, proudly, "Well, YOU did. Water rolls off a duck's back, but NOTHING smells worse than wet dog…"

Goofy looked miffed at that statement, before Sora remarked, "Well Donald, I don't know about you, but I got a good whiff of you after that, and you didn't smell like a garden. A compost heap, maybe…"

Goofy laughed aloud at that, more so at Donald's fuming face than Sora's comment.

Sora knocked on the door, and opened it. Luckily for them, Leon, Aerith, and Yuffie were indeed in, meaning they wouldn't require another swim in the sewers.

Leon nodded imperceptibly. "Sora. Nice to see you."

Aerith offered them all drinks, which the newcomers graciously accepted, then asked, "What brings you here?"

Sora scratched the back of his head. "Well, basically, we want to know why the Heartless keep showing up."

Donald nodded. "Yeah. Shouldn't they all stop being here once Sora sealed the Keyhole?"

Leon closed his eyes. "It's not that simple. Locking the Keyhole keeps the Heartless from taking the world over… but you're like a magnet to them. Wherever the Keyblade goes, the Heartless follow. Even sealing the Keyholes won't stop that…"

Sora looked crestfallen. "Oh… sorry. I didn't know. I've been endangering this town then…"

Aerith put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, Heartless come here no matter what. They appear even when you're not here. It's not your fault."

Yuffie grinned and said, "Yup, you're just making it worse!"

Aerith gave a stern look to the ninja girl, who just laughed.

Goofy scratched his head. "Gawrsh, y'all know a lot about the Heartless and the Keyblade. How come?"

Leon looked at the dog, then said, simply, "Nanaki."

Sora blinked. "What's a Nanaki?"

Yuffie stood up. "That's right, you never met him!"

Leon nodded. "Nanaki's an old sage that lives here in Traverse Town. He told us all about the legends of the Keyblade."

Goofy looked puzzled. "But how does HE know them?"

"Because he lived through them!" Yuffie said, "Nanaki's as old as dirt, but he's really cool, and he tells a good story. C'mon, I'll take you to him!"

Sora found himself being grabbed by the ninja girl and dragged out of the house, Donald and Goofy tailing him. Whoever this Nanaki was, Yuffie definitely liked his company.

The four of them went to the first district, up to a house that neighbored Gepetto's, covered in locks. Yuffie knocked on the door and said, "It's Yuffie!"

Almost instantly, the sound of every lock clicking open was heard.

Yuffie walked in casually, with her charges in tow.

The house was small, and they could hear a fire crackling in a nearby room. The group wandered in after Yuffie, and found the house's resident.

Sitting in the next room was a large red beast that looked something like a lion and something like a wolf. A feather headdress decorated his spiked mane and golden bracelets decorated his legs. He was covered in tattoos, and his face showed that one of his eyes was gone, a crossed scar where it should be. Most amazing of all, they realized that the fire they heard in the vestibule was coming from the creature's tail.

Upon seeing the visitors, the beast got up and asked, "Kaze, is that you!" in disbelief, approaching Sora and sniffing him intently, before saying, "No, you aren't Kaze. Similar, but not the same."

Yuffie nodded. "He's really the same, Nanaki. Sora here is a Keybearer."

Nanaki blinked, or winked, rather. "Is that so? Are you from the Destiny Islands?"

Sora was taken aback. "How did you know?"

Nanaki smiled. "You and he must be kin. And these other two are?"

"Donald Duck," Donald extended his hand.

"I'm Goofy," Goofy waved, "We're servants of King Mickey."

Nanaki brightened. "King Mickey? Ah, Walt's descendant. So, it all comes full circle."

Sora blinked. "What do you mean?"

Nanaki shook his head. "Where are my manners, sit down, please!" when the travelers did so, the red beast sat up, "My name is Nanaki, the Thirteenth Guardian of Cosmo Canyon. I am, as of this July, 428 years old."

Sora, Donald and Goofy all were taken aback.

"Don't look at me like that. My species is very long lived. In any case, I was 48 years old, sixteen by your species' standards, when I was taken along for the journey of my life with my dearest friends, rest their souls. One was named Walter, Crown Prince of Disney Castle. The other was Kaze, the first wielder of the Keyblade…"

* * *

Kingdom Hearts: Origins  
Written by Ryan Griffin  
Kingdom Hearts and all elements within are the properties of Square-Enix and Disney. All characters from the Final Fantasy series are the properties of Square-Enix. Kaze, Hino, Koori, and Prince Walt are my own creations and may not be used without my permission.

* * *

The dream occurred every single night. Kaze wasn't one to believe in omens and the like, but he knew that this dream was telling him something. 

It never felt like the dreams that he was falling, or that he was going through the day and was suddenly naked, or that he was driving and his limbs failed him as he crashed into a tree… these dreams were odder.

It always began in the same place, the clock tower that stood over the city. It was the dead of night, with no stars or moon, only the pale orange light reflected from streetlamps. A blizzard rumbled in, silent at first, that by the time that he realized it was getting colder, a wall of snow was rushing him at thirty miles per hour. He struggled and clawed his way, trying to walk against the wind and biting cold, when, all of a sudden, the snow cleared, for only a second. He looked at the clearing, the streetlights reflecting off of snowflakes, bathing the area in an ethereal glow.

At both ends of the clearing, he saw two girls. On the eastern end of the clock tower was a person he knew for as long as he could remember, his best friend. Her long auburn hair cascaded down to the small of her back, and her brown eyes looked at him pleadingly. She was wearing a cream colored long sleeved dress, highlighted with red trim. She wore white pants underneath, tucked into shin high silver boots. The ensemble covered her completely, yet looked rather mobile.

At the western end was another girl he knew. She was dressed in an odd, dark violet uniform, with some odd, navy blue merging of a poncho and a cloak covering her shoulders. The wind swept her shoulder-length blond hair and her blue eyes pierced into Kaze's brain. She stood, a veneer of indifference about her, yet her mouth seemed to fade into a relieved smile at times.

The first girl, called Hino, and the second, called Koori, looked towards Kaze, both seeming to ask him to join them.

Kaze took a step forward, and crunched into snow. He took another step, and fell deeper in. The square seemed to bury itself deeper and deeper with each step they took. Kaze tried in fear to reach them, but suddenly, the blizzard realized it was alive once more and blew into Kaze's face with force enough to nearly send him flying. He struggled against the wind and ever growing snowdrifts, and, at last, he came upon one of his friends. The snow blinded him, obscured who it was that he was about to reach, and as he reached forward to grab her hand, she melted into the blizzard.

Kaze wailed in frustration as the snow piled around him, seeming to encase him in ice. His mind then flashed into images.

A thunderstorm cut through a vast land.

A red beast howled at the moon.

Waterfalls rushed and cascaded into a desert canyon.

Two anthropoid animals faced each other in a duel.

A crown was thrown upwards in a lopsided castle.

Fire overtook a forest.

Storms battered an ocean.

A golden city rusted and died.

And, lastly, a mountaintop exploded, revealing a winged demon. Its face glowed red with unearthly fire, and he laughed as he looked to the sky above him.

One by one, the stars were extinguished.

The demon looked at Kaze, and began to laugh as its gigantic claws reached to cover him.

Kaze awoke to the sounds of church bells.

* * *

"It's getting darker…" Kaze said as he looked out the skyscraper that housed his schoolroom.

He checked his wristwatch. He wanted to get out of there. He wanted to get home. He looked into the black, clouded sky. He checked the time, five o' clock PM. Sunset occurred at one in the afternoon. Just last week, sunset had been at three in the afternoon. The days were getting shorter and shorter, and even the light of the stars, the light of the moon, was a distant memory.

He looked to the streets, and here he saw light, but none of it good. The flames flicked and danced around the skyline in a way that both enticed and disturbed him. He checked the streets below. No crowds, of course, beyond several people running for their lives.

A breeze rattled through the window panes, chilling the room to the point that Kaze nearly leapt out of it. He went down the hall to a nearby vending machine, specifically, towards the person standing in front of it.

"Hino, we have to get out of here…" Kaze said. The girl perked up and looked at him with large brown eyes.

"Kaze, you know what's out there…" Hino responded, handing Kaze a chocolate bar. Kaze unwrapped it and ate as he talked.

"What's out there is going to be in here any second now…" Kaze paused to swallow, "Those people are nuts. It's all breaking down. I've seen cops and firefighters taking place in the lootings and sackings… we're in the middle of it all and there's no one around to help us…"

"Kaze, we can be safe here… you trust me, don't you?" Hino pushed a lock of hair out of the way and looked at him, slightly pouting. Kaze had to grin in spite of himself.

"Hino, don't think you can pull the puppy dog look. We've been friends for who knows how long… I'm immune…" Kaze looked at her, as she intensified the pout, "I swear I'm immune!" Hino simply continued to stare, and Kaze said, dejectedly, "Ah, who am I kidding?"

Hino grinned, "I knew you'd see it my way…"

"You don't give much of a choice… I still say we should get out of here, though. But, I'm not gonna leave this place if you're not." Kaze took the last bite of his chocolate bar and threw the wrapper in a trash can.

Hino smiled sweetly, and said, "I'm glad you…" she trailed off as she strained her ears, motioning to Kaze to keep silent. Both soon could hear footsteps, soft at first, but growing, getting nearer.

The two of them tensed as the footsteps felt as though they were on top of them. Both of them coiled up, ready to strike as the owner of those footsteps appeared in the hallway.

"AAAAAAAAAAAH!" All three screamed at the top of their lungs. Only afterwards did they realize who the newcomer was.

"Koori…" Kaze said, breathing hard, "You gave us quite a shock there."

Koori walked over and swatted Kaze upside the head, "You idiots! You nearly gave me a heart attack! What are you doing here, anyway?"

"We could ask you the same question!" Hino responded, moving in front of Kaze protectively.

"Not all of us joined in the mob rule when twilight happened at half past twelve," Koori said as flatly as possible, "I've been trying to avoid any problems…"

"Coincidence, so have we…" Kaze said, rubbing his head, "Though I think we should get out of here before someone realizes they haven't looted THIS building…"

"Brilliant idea, save for the hordes of looters between here and anywhere else…" Koori said sarcastically, "Come on, use that brain of yours. Lord knows you haven't been straining it…"

"That's enough!" Hino said, "Kaze, I stand corrected, maybe we should leave…"

Kaze said, "Wait! Koori does bring up a good point. We don't want to be run down by torch wielding maniacs. So, the question becomes, how DO we get out of here…"

Koori bit her lip.

"What do you know?" Kaze asked.

"I didn't say anything…" Koori said.

Kaze simply folded his arms.

"If you think you're going to intimidate me, you're wrong," Koori said.

"I doubt I'd intimidate you. I weigh so little that I'm sure you could easily thrash me until your arms got tired if you felt like it. But, you seem to know something. And if you did know a way out, you'd probably be home by now if there weren't something wrong with it. You need help, and right now, we're officially it…"

Koori looked at them oddly, especially Hino.

Kaze sighed, and stepped out of the way, "Look, I don't know what's going on, but the three of us used to be friends. Good friends. I don't know why the two of you got so hostile, but we need each other right now. Any one of us does anything alone here, we might get ourselves killed…"

Koori sighed, then said, "There's a tunnel that leads through here and some of the other schools. It goes straight into our neighborhood. I'm pretty sure no one's down there, but I didn't want to risk it alone. Happy?"

Hino nodded, and Kaze said, "Ecstatic. We should get going… Lord knows this isn't going to be fun…"

Kaze began to walk away. Hino and Koori just stared at each other for a little while, as if sizing each other up.

Kaze walked back, "I just realized I have no idea where this tunnel is… What's going on?"

"Nothing," the two of them said in unison, as they looked at each other, and then away. Koori led the way. Hino motioned for Kaze to follow them.

Kaze chuckled to himself, "Maybe they're fighting over me…" Kaze laughed at the thought as he whispered it out, "Nah, I'm no prize…"

* * *

"So, my question is, how did you find this place?" Kaze asked.

"Well, I was searching the building, seeing if there was a bomb shelter or something. Knowing the attacks going on, I was sure someone thought to build one. I found this instead…" Koori said, "The map was pretty clear, but I didn't want to go in too far…"

"I wouldn't either," Kaze said simply.

"Well, at least we've got a big strong man to protect us…" Hino said giggling. Kaze also barked out a laugh.

"Considering worthless here can't wrestle anyone without breaking a few bones, I think we'd be safer with a mouse protecting us…" Koori grumbled.

"Well, if all else fails, you could use my corpse as a bludgeon…" Kaze laughed, then said, "Man, I hope this'll be over soon. I hate having to spend time in school…"

"This coming from the guy who sleeps through half his classes?"

"Hey! He gets decent grades."

Koori scoffed, "Kaze seems to be brilliant at times, just never applies himself. Hell, I can see you two in several years… You'll be married to the smartest stockboy in this whole one-horse town…"

Hino simply fumed at that, and began arguing so loudly and incoherently that Kaze felt he had to back away. He took out a flashlight and finally got a look at their surroundings. After realizing their friend was neither paying attention nor staying in one place, Hino and Koori joined him.

The tunnel was maintained much better than they had expected. The walls and floor, while not sparkling, were free from any mold or slime. Lamps were strung along the sides.

"Someone's been taking care of this place," Hino said.

"They're probably scared of the riots and wanted a clean place to hide," Koori responded.

"I can appreciate the effort…" Kaze said, as he pointed his flashlight around, "That's odd…"

"What?" Koori asked incredulously.

"Normally, in a place like this, you'd see some type of vermin. Rats, roaches, stuff like that. Not that I wish any of those things were HERE, mind you, but the fact that there aren't any is a bit unnerving…"

"So someone set out a couple of traps. You're over thinking this," Koori snapped.

"Maybe I am…" Kaze said as they lapsed into silence.

"Does anyone know where this leads?" Hino asked.

"The map said it was a straight run to the residential section," Koori surmised, "It'll lead past the rioters at any rate."

"It keeps heading down, though…" Kaze said, "It may take a while…"

"Waiting to get home and sleep?" Koori said sarcastically, "Lord knows you do enough of that in class."

"Funny," Kaze said without sincerity or scorn, "I just want us all to be somewhere SAFE."

"I'm not sure there will be any place like that very soon…" Koori said.

The three of them stopped at that, before Hino said, "I'm scared, everyone's become so, so MEAN lately. No one seems to care if anyone else lives or dies… or even what would happen to them…"

"War, famine, death, pestilence… All four horsemen and their brothers are starting to come out…" Kaze sighed, "Very soon, I think something really bad is going to happen…"

Koori shook her head, "As if something bad hasn't already happened…"

"I mean…" Kaze struggled to find the right words, "I've been having dreams lately. BAD dreams. And the world doesn't seem to be discouraging them. Things are just going to get worse…" He looked at them both, "And I want to make sure the two of you are safe."

Hino smiled warmly, but Koori scoffed, "As if we need YOU to protect us. You're just a wiry little thing. If something came for us, you'd be no use."

"That's not what I meant. I meant that the two of you are the only people who care about me, who care about ANYTHING it seems. My parents seem like they're already dead, alternating between working late and drugging themselves into stupors. Everyone just seems like they're either totally listless or just angry at everything. You two are the only other people who seem to have some life in you… I'm rambling aren't I?"

"You are," Koori responded, with a lot less venom.

"Well, what I'm trying to say is the world's become really bad, and it's just going to get worse, and when it seems like there's only three people who care… one of those people gets really concerned about the other two…"

Koori sighed, "You are perhaps the lamest flirt I've ever met," she grinned as she saw Kaze flush, Hino giggling at the sight, "But you have a point."

"Let's make a promise," Hino said, "No matter what happens, each one of us will do all they can to protect the other two…"

"Deal," Kaze said.

Koori rolled her eyes, "Sure."

And, with that, the lights stopped working.

"Great," Koori said, "Someone must have cut a power line."

"No worries," Kaze said, "I've still got my…" there was a bit of fumbling, "That's strange…"

"What?" Koori asked exasperatedly.

"My flashlight's not working either. And I've got brand-new batteries in this thing."

"Perfect," Koori said, "Alone in a dark tunnel and clueless here can't get our only light source working."

"We should keep moving anyway," Hino said, "We shouldn't stay in one place, in case someone else comes down here…"

"Stick together, though…" Kaze said, "We don't want to take any risks of getting lost…"

With that, Hino snaked his right arm around her left while Koori took a firm grasp of his left wrist. Kaze continued forward, hoping against hope nothing bad would happen.

All of a sudden, the three of them stopped. "Do you feel that?" Kaze asked.

The two girls mumbled assent. A stern breeze filled the chamber. The three of them remained quiet, straining their ears to catch the slightest sound. Nothing, not even a rustling of the wind, emitted from the chamber.

"What happened?" Hino asked.

"I don't think anyone came down here…" Kaze said.

"Well, I just wish something would make SENSE of all this…" Koori grumbled.

Kaze took a precautionary step forward. Puzzled, he took another, tapping the ground with his foot, "That's odd."

"What?"

"It feels like glass under here…"

"Don't be ridiculous," Koori said, "It can't…" she then took a step herself, then said, "Huh… that IS odd."

Hino herself stepped forward, and that's when it began.

Around the three of them, a light began to shimmer from below. When the bright glow finished spreading, the three of them were revealed to be standing on a stained-glass surface. The floor was circular, the predominant color was a bright yellow, and the edge was trimmed with golden crowns. The center revealed three odd swords crossed together. The lowest was a black blade, replete with wicked curves, the hilt resembling bat wings, and an odd attachment near the tip of the blade, trapezoidal. The next blade was white and silver, the hilt carved as white feathered wings, and the attachment at the end resembling a rising sun. The blade on the top was much simpler, a golden hexagonal hilt, a small silver blade, ending with an attachment that looked like the teeth of a simple key.

Koori slowly let go of Kaze's wrist as she walked to the edge of the glass floor, startled to find nothing beyond it. Kaze slowly let go of Hino's hand and began to test the floor himself. He and Koori finally met up with Hino in the middle.

"There's no floor beyond the glass… How do we get out of here?" Koori said.

"How did we even get here?" Kaze asked.

Before they could continue that line of thought, suddenly, three pedestals arose from the floor. With a flash of light three objects appeared above them; a sword, a shield, and a staff.

Kaze slowly approached a pedestal, the one with the staff above it. He cautiously grasped it, as if to see if it were real. Once he realized it was, he slowly took it, tested the weight, and then began to twirl it in one hand. He realized the feel was rather comfortable, and as he looked at the other weapons, he felt confident that of all of them, this was the best fit for him. No sooner had he thought this than the staff disappeared in a spark of light.

Koori, in turn, began to walk towards the sword, gripping it firmly, testing its weight, surprised to see that it was rather light. She took a practice swing, and grinned slightly before the sword, too, vanished.

Hino approached the shield, wary of the fact that this was left for her, but as she held it in her hands, she began to smile, holding it in front of her, and even taking a cautionary punch. She ran her fingers along the edge, pleased, as the shield, too, disappeared.

Immediately upon the disappearance of the shield, the pedestals dissolved in shadows, and the glass floor began to crack and shatter. The three of them were sent plummeting into the dark depths.

The three of them landed roughly, yet unharmed, on another surface. This one featured a predominantly red surface, ringed by odd markings and featuring, in the middle, an odd beast, four legged, resembling both a wolf and a lion, with a ridged mane along its back and an odd Mohawk along the top of its head, adorned with white and blue feathers. The creature's body was marred by scars and tattoos, the most recognizable being a large "XIII" along its left front shoulder. The creature's yellow eye, even in the glass image, sparkled with intelligence.

Kaze stepped forward, and then jumped back as he looked at the floor. Swimming beneath his shoes were creatures that looked like somewhat human. Rising from the ground like shadows made real, they seemed to be made of ink, with two hollow yellow eyes on their faces. They leered forward, hunched over, their claw like hands twitching in anticipation, two antennae quirking forward and back as if they could not be controlled.

Immediately, the three of them began to tense up, and, suddenly, a light began to glow in their hands, forming the weapons they had chosen.

Koori didn't even hesitate, rushing forward and slashing the creatures, placing all her power behind each swing. Kaze could only stand blinking, before one of the shadow creatures pounced towards him. Kaze winced, waiting for an impact that never came, as Hino stood over him, the shadow bouncing off the shield and onto the glass floor. Kaze, upon seeing this, gathered up his courage and rushed forward. Jumping high, he swung at a shadow upon his descent, smashing it with his staff and causing it to dissolve into thick black smoke. He then turned to another creature, letting it rush him, before he dove out of the way and smacked the thing over the side of the stained glass floor. Kaze continued to fight, dancing around the creature's strikes and smacking them with his staff.

Finally, the shadows no longer swam from the floor. With a low hum, stairway shimmered into existence.

"What the hell is going on here?" Koori asked.

"Not sure… but we have to keep moving…" Kaze said, and he began to step forward.

"What the hell were those things?" Hino asked.

"Not sure, but I don't want to stick around and see if they come back…" Kaze said.

"And you want to head forward, possibly into more of them?" Koori asked.

"I don't think you want to stay here any more than I do…" Kaze said.

"Good point…" Koori joined him, and Hino behind her.

Walking up the steps, Kaze wondered exactly what was going on, and specifically wondered how they were all going to get home… he then noticed the next stained glass floor. This one was a royal blue color, with a humanoid mouse in the middle. The mouse wore blue and violet clothes, specifically a deep blue poncho with an orange fleur-de-lis emblazoned. The mouse wore a crown, and held a gigantic blade in one hand and a massive shield in the other.

As Hino stepped off the top step and onto the floor, the stairway disappeared. Koori sighed, as if expecting something like that to happen.

Suddenly, the floor rumbled, and three geysers of shadow erupted from the floor. From each geyser, a shadow creature formed, slightly taller than an average man. One seemed lithe and quick, rail thin, with hands grasping glowing purple orbs. Another was big and blocky, with large thick hands. The last looked neither as quick as the first nor as strong as the second, but the thing had long, sharp claws, like overgrown knives. All three looked to the humans, and seemed to smile.

Claws leapt first, and struck at Kaze with enough force to disembowel a buffalo. Kaze only just managed to leap out of the way. Claws then looked at the girls hungrily.

Kaze responded by hurling the staff at the thing's head. It made a graceful arc, whacked Claws square in the back of the head. The thing growled, and charged at Kaze, who once again ducked out of the way, rolling behind him and striking it in the small of the back with his staff.

Kaze looked back, seeing Koori slashing at Hands, while Hino had begun punching at Orbs with her shield. Confident they could handle those monsters, Kaze focused on the one charging him. He jumped over the running creature and kicked it in the back of the head on his descent.

He inwardly thanked whatever gods decided that he would be a good gymnast.

Claws, enraged, rushed at Kaze once more. Kaze promptly stepped out of the way, allowing the shadow to run off of the floor.

He was quite surprised to see the thing run on the blackness, turn around, and run right back at him. It was only a quick reflex block from the staff that allowed him to keep his intestines inside of him.

Kaze inwardly struggled to think of an effective strategy against the thing and wasn't coming up with anything. As he parried each blow from the clawed monster, he looked at the others. Koori wasn't faring too well, the stocky monster shrugging off blows that would have cut stone, and the other monster was shooting dark energy from its orbs, shooting at Hino, who could only barely block with the shield.

Kaze swore, and then began to think of a plan. He swung at the clawed monster, striking its head, and then promptly ran away. He grinned as the monster followed him, building momentum. Kaze slid out of the way, too quickly for the clawed monster to react. It slammed into the orb monster, which, in turn, slammed into the stocky monster. There was an explosion of dark energy, and the three things sat, dazed, bleeding ichor and sparkling as if electrocuted. Kaze took the opening and began whacking at the clawed monster, until finally; it relented and exploded into smoke. Hino stepped up and began whaling at her monster, as Kaze joined in, hitting the orbed monster until it too vanished. Koori slashed at the bulky monster, joined by her two friends. The creature revived just long enough to become aware of its own destruction.

Kaze spat, "Bastards..." he wiped his brow, "How many more of these guys are they going to throw at us."

Hino took a deep breath, "Not sure…"

"If only we had some idea why this was even happening," Koori hissed.

At that moment, a giant ornate door appeared in the center of the floor.

"Odd…" Hino said.

"Not much odder than what's been happening…" Koori muttered as Hino went to try to open the door.

Hino tried to find a knob or a lever, but found none. She tried pushing on both sides. She shook her head, "It's not gonna budge."

"Step aside," Koori said, and she began to push herself. Unfortunately, the result was the same. No matter what she did, nothing would make the door open.

"Huh… that's REALLY strange…" Kaze said, reaching to touch the door. The moment his hand made contact, the door exploded in bright white light, and the three were forced to cover their eyes.

Kaze blinked as the light subsided. The doorway revealed itself.

"All right, let's go…" Kaze called, and began to step forward, but stopped upon hearing screams.

He turned to see that the entire floor had erupted with shadows, and Koori and Hino were in the middle of it, struggling to free themselves, as if caught in quicksand.

"NO!" Kaze cried out, leaping over and grabbing on to each of their hands. He strained as much as he could, but while they did not sink into the darkness any further, nor did they seem to become free. "Hang on!" he grunted, wondering how long he could keep his grip.

He looked into Koori and Hino's eyes, back and forth, and both seemed to place all their trust in him. The darkness continued to pull, and Kaze was forced to his knees as he felt his strength ebbing. He grunted in pain as he struggled with all his might.

_What would you give to save them?_

Kaze, at this point not noticing the voice was disembodied, cried out "Anything!"

_What if you had to pick one of them?_

"I'd rather die! I'd rather die than save one of them at the expense of the other!"

_Would you shun the light you love so dearly and become immersed in nothingness?_

"ANYTHING! I need to save them!"

_Why?_

Kaze paused for a minute, straining to keep the ever increasing pull of the shadows at bay, and barely manage to string out something coherent, "Have to… keep… safe. Want keep everything… But… nothing else matters. Nothing else… still good… Nothing else… No one else cares…" Kaze breathed in and screamed…

"NO ONE ELSE HAS A HEART!"

Suddenly, a force seemed to yank him from the scruff of the neck, pulling him into the doorway and ripping himself from his grip on the girls. He cried out impotently as white light flooded his eyes, his brain.

_Hearts are the greatest weapon of all._

_The strongest heart is the most powerful weapon of all._

_The balance must be restored._

_We need the strongest weapon of all._

_It is your heart._

_It is quite surprising, very unexpected..._

_Unfortunately, we cannot choose._

_Your heart must become our weapon._

_I hope it is enough…_

_

* * *

_

"HINO! KOORI!" Kaze shouted, sitting upright. Panting, he realized he was in his bed. He looked around, and sure enough, he was in his room, he checked out the window, still dark outside. He checked the clock. Eight in the morning, not a good sign, but commoner as time went on. Kaze jumped out of bed, and ran to the kitchen. He took the phone and began dialing frantically.

"Hey, Kaze, calm down and, whatever you do, stay away from coffee today…"

Kaze hung up the phone. Koori was standing in the hallway, looking disheveled but intact.

"What… Why are you?"

Behind them, a voice giggled, "Have a nightmare, Kaze?" Hino said coquettishly, "You shouldn't take your dreams so seriously."

"It seemed so real…" he slumped into a chair. "Wait, why are you?"

"You passed out when the blackout hit us in the tunnel," Hino said, worriedly, "We wanted to stay here to make sure you were all right."

"Your parents never came home, so we took their beds," Koori said, "I still can't believe they sleep in separate beds, like some sort of sitcom…"

Kaze rubbed his head, "I… passed out?" Kaze shook his head. He recalled the memories in the stained glass place, and it seemed vividly real, even now, not the half recalled memory of a dream, a dream that usually was hazy to begin with.

Worse, his muscles ached, where the monsters landed hits, where he hit the ground too hard… it seemed as if, as he believed, it had all happened five minutes ago, not as if it were a dream.

Kaze looked out into the sky. There were no clouds, but the sun had not even shown the beginnings of wanting to rise, "I think we should be prepared today… I think we're in for the worst day of our lives."

* * *

The Magic Kingdom was in an uproar.

Walter Mouse wandered through the marketplace, concealed in a plain brown cloak, listening to the goings-on of the various people around him. All talk was of one subject, though.

"…Only a week for all of them to die…" a bull said to a shopkeeper.

"…I heard the last of them died just an hour ago…" said a worried horse to his wife.

"…The plague came so suddenly, spread so quickly…" a distraught female dog to her friend.

"So... now what's going to happen?" A duckling asked of his playmates.

The last question was on everyone's mind, and though Walt knew more than most, his knowledge did little more than accent his cluelessness.

For years, the Magic Kingdom had been a kingdom where humans ruled. Over time, the animals they lived with, the horses and cows, the dogs and cats, the ducks and birds, the mice, had all risen up alongside them as various clans. And though the clans themselves had their own hierarchies, the humans ruled supreme.

And now, that all changed. Within a week, a deadly disease had spread like a wildfire throughout the land, affecting no one but the humans. Now, all of them were dead. And that lay down heavily on Walt's head.

Walt shook his head as he walked past the marketplace towards his destination. He knew what would happen, the first inklings of it had already started. In the chaos caused by the kingdom suddenly losing its head, the clans would begin fighting. Those who once lived peacefully aside one another would soon be at war, all for the throne of Disney Castle.

And Walt laughed inside. He knew he would be a prime target for an assassin's arrow. And he knew that whatever effort he put in, he would never gain that throne, even if he did survive. The Mouse Clan always got the shaft.

Which is why, in great secret, he was planning something very experimental. He had teamed up with scientists on his world who were making the first ever vessel to travel through interspace.

If possible, he could find another world, and maybe bring the peace lovers there, to avoid the chaos and brutality sure to follow.

Entering the facility, he shed his plain cloak, revealing a blue and indigo outfit, trimmed with orange. He took his rapier and shield, necessary tools for any unsavory elements on the new worlds he would encounter.

He entered the launch chamber. No one was speaking. No one needed to. Finally, one of them spoke up.

"Your Majesty, all is prepared…" a duck at the control panel said.

Sighing, Walter, Prince of the Mouse Clan walked to the ship, made of the extremely versatile Gummi Blocks. He was going to escape.

He turned to all gathered there, "I'm not sure what I will find out there, and I'm not sure what will happen here in my absence. Right now, our world may soon be at war… If anyone wishes to go with me, they are welcome…"

Walt silently prayed someone would. To go to other worlds was terrifying in and of itself, but to do it alone…

There was a pause, before finally, a dog said, "Prince Walt, we understand the importance of this mission, and your reasons for wanting to leave… but this is our home. We cannot abandon it, especially now…"

"Would you throw away your lives for a power struggle?" Walt said, "We have lived for thousands of years in peace… We might be able to find it elsewhere…"

No one spoke, and finally, Walt turned and boarded the ship, shaking his head all the while.

* * *

"What a dump," a small bipedal cat wearing a crown and kerchief said from atop his mount, a five foot tall pink stuffed animal that vaguely resembled a Moogle.

The large black man beside him sighed. Though he wanted to remain optimistic, the creature had a point. Didn't stop him from dismissing it though. "You're just pissed cause you got stuck in that robotic body, Reeve."

"First off, Barrett, my name's Cait Sith," the cat said, "And second of all…" the cat then blew a raspberry at the black man.

"Enough…" a stern voice beside them hushed the fighting, revealing a blonde woman wearing a white outfit replete with a long cape, "We can't exactly be choosy about our new homes. Considering the old one was…" she trailed off.

Barrett stared at his right arm and the machine gun that had replaced his right hand. It was a reminder of the struggle he put up to keep his world from being taken over by Shinra and the Darkness. Now, all he had was this dump of a world that no one had inhabited simply because no one wanted to live there.

"What's wrong, Daddy?" a voice beneath him asked. It was little Marlene, his adopted daughter, who lost her parents, Barrett's best friends, long before losing her world.

Barrett smiled. "Nothing, honey. We'll all be fine, you can trust me on that…" he couldn't afford to be melancholy. He had someone who needed him to be strong. And strong he would be.

Behind this, an odd being pondered their situation. It was a large red beast who was a little like a lion, a little like a wolf, and nothing like either. He was Nanaki, son of Seto, guardian of Cosmo Canyon. He had, alongside Barrett and Rosa, the blond woman, tried to prevent the world from falling. He failed, and that failure resonated in his heart. His parents had sacrificed themselves and, in doing so, prevented Cosmo Canyon from being invaded by the Gi tribe. He would have died to prevent Midgar from falling to the darkness, but his friends dragged him onto their ship, scoured for as many innocents as they could before fleeing.

He had done all he could do. And he failed. And the latter point vast overshadowed the former.

Nanaki sighed, before saying, "We'll forge new lives and a new settlement here. This will be our home, and the home to all who wish it, for the time being. All who lost worlds to the darkness will find solace here, and we shall defend it with our lives, until such time as we and all beings can return to their homes…"

All present seemed uplifted by Nanaki's speech, even if it depressed the red beast to no end.

"So, what're we gonna call this place?" Cait asked.

No one knew exactly who suggested "Traverse Town," but all agreed that it fit.

* * *

**Author's Notes** –

This is the rewritten version, created after playing Kingdom Hearts II and deciding to edit the story, fleshing out certain ideas, abandoning others, replacing some characters, and all that jazz.

"The Keyblade is said to hold phenomenal power. One legend says its wielder saved the world, while another says that he wrought chaos and ruin upon it." – Ansem Report 9

Now, I've heard speculation that this Ansem Report is supposed to be talking about Riku. This makes no sense to me, because if Riku was the one discussed, how could the Keyblade fall into legend? How did Mickey find out about it and tell Ansem? In any case, it seems that we need a different Keybearer for the legend to be fulfilled. And Kaze's our man.


	2. Blaze and Battles

The clothes were the same. They fit, they were comfortable and they gave him a look he enjoyed. The matching pants and shirt were lime green with a trim of gold triangles at the sleeve and leg openings. He had a belt fastened around his waist, covered in large white gems. Over his shirt, he had a dark, olive green jacket with the sleeves torn off. He put on a pair of fingerless black gloves and put on his large black boots. Then, finally, he put on his headband, replete with ear flaps, like the form of hat called the chullo, keeping his long hair out of his face and his ears warm. He was merely dressing as he usually did.

So, why did it feel like he was preparing for battle?

He looked outside. The sun still showed no intention of rising. He was beginning to wonder what was happening as a cold wind rocked the house back and forth.

He stepped out of his room, not sure if he would ever see it again.

He looked to Hino and Koori, both of whom were looking at him expectantly. He debated what he should say, what he should do. Something inside him told him he should run.

He found no reason to disagree.

* * *

Kingdom Hearts: Origins  
Written by Ryan Griffin  
Kingdom Hearts and all elements within are the properties of Square-Enix and Disney. All characters from the Final Fantasy series are the properties of Square-Enix. Kaze, Hino, Koori, and Prince Walt are my own creations and may not be used without my permission.

* * *

Within seconds, the three of them ransacked the house, bringing as much food and water as they could stuff into their pockets. The final stop was the garage.

The car left was small, not much larger than a dune buggy, but it would have to do. As Hino and Koori piled in, Kaze looked for something they might use as weapons.

Lying on the side of the garage was a sledgehammer, and hanging on the wall was a replica saber, sheathed and ready. Kaze took them both and placed them by his side as he started the car.

"Can you even drive this thing?" Koori asked.

"Not well, but yeah…" Kaze said, "Can you do any better?" At their silence, Kaze put the car in drive, "The sun's not going to rise. People are going to start destroying things…" As if on cue, an explosion rocked the small street, "Rioters are going to be everywhere. We have to get out of here…"

"Where are we going to go?" Hino asked.

There was a pause.

"Anywhere that isn't here," Koori said, "As long as we keep running, we should be fine. I don't want to stick around one place waiting for something to lop our heads off…"

Kaze nodded, and pulled the car out of the driveway. He began to drive, erratically at first, but eventually gaining a sense of where he should go. After a while of driving, he said, "That's odd…"

"What?" Koori asked, but Hino answered for him.

"No one else is on the road…"

Kaze drove to the bridge leading out of the city limits, then swore as he saw bridge in utter ruins. He turned quickly, trying to find another pathway. He shook his head at the fire and ruin that seemed to spread throughout the area, then cried out in anguished realization.

"There's only one way to get out of here with the bridge out…" Kaze said, "And it's through the city."

He waited for Hino or Koori to say something, to tell him to continue or to stop, but before either could answer, another house exploded in flame.

"Go!" Koori yelled.

Kaze complied, flooring the gas pedal and speeding through the city.

The journey into the city was a lot less eventful than they imagined. The city seemed to already be ransacked, and no rioters were present. The city was in eerie calm. For a time, they simply continued to drive through the empty streets. Unfortunately, this came to an end.

Eventually, they were forced to come to a halt at a massive crowd of people filling the streets. Oddly, these people were not fighting or looting or even moving, simply standing stock still. It was odd to say the least.

And, unfortunately, they were blocking every possible exit from the city.

Kaze turned off the car, and pulled out the hammer and saber as he did so. Hino and Koori stood to his side. Kaze handed the hammer to Hino and the saber to Koori as he took a step towards the crowd.

In unison, every face turned to face them. Kaze jumped back, but still stayed beside his friends. He looked into the faces, utterly and totally blank. He fleetingly recognized some, to an extent, but even those seemed to fade into a uniform face of the crowd.

Suddenly, in the middle of the crowd, a black geyser erupted, and a wave of black fog enveloped the crowd. As it subsided, the crowd was no longer a mass of people.

Instead, it was a massive collection of the shadow creatures.

Shocked, he looked to Hino and Koori, "Do you remember those things?"

With a look of dawning comprehension, Hino nodded as Koori said "Yes" in a mystified tone. And, with that, Hino held her hammer threateningly as Koori drew the saber.

While thankful he gave Hino and Koori weapons, he wished there was something he himself could use. And, seemingly in a flash, it came to him…

Hearts were the most powerful weapon of all.

He concentrated hard, tried to see if he could pull a power from his heart, tried to imagine the all-enveloping light that sent him from that odd tunnel into this nightmare.

"Darkness. Balance has been upset… We need a light…" he held out his hands, not sure if it would work. He was trying to summon his staff, as ineffective as it might have been.

What he received was much better.

It was a massive key, half as long as he was tall, looking as though it could be wielded as a sword. The hilt was gold and hexagonal, the blade rounded and silver. On the end was a "tooth", the pattern of which seemed to be a crown shape taken out of a block of metal. From the end near his hand, a chain was attached, ending in an odd symbol, a large circle adorned with two other circles, like odd ears. The word "Keyblade" echoed in his mind.

Surprised, he tested the Keyblade, giving it a practice swing. The shadow creatures saw this, and rushed forward en masse.

Controlling his bladder as he did so, Kaze rushed forward and swung the key as the front line of creatures, dissolving them in black smoke upon contact. He tried to dodge another attack, which led him into another. He kept swinging, destroying the shadow creatures with much less effort than he would have imagined. He then realized that, beside him, destroying any attackers that would have come from behind, were Hino and Koori, smashing and skewering whatever shadows leapt at him. Flashing a thumbs-up, Kaze kept rushing forward, cutting a swath through the creatures, destroying ten of them for every one of them that landed a hit. However, as he continued to battle, a sense of futility crept into his being.

"We need to do more than just this!" Kaze yelled.

"To the clock tower!" Hino cried. And with that, the three began to run full speed to the largest building in the city, Kaze cutting through the shadows along the way.

The lights of the city were usually dim at best, but the light of the clock tower shone as bright as ever. Kaze gritted his teeth as he felt a voice bubble into his head.

_Enveloped in the darkness._

_The loss of hearts._

_The heart of this world._

_The heart of all worlds._

_Darkness overtakes it._

_And the light only remains in three…_

Kaze yelled, "What the fuck ARE you!"

The bubbling voice laughed.

_The light exists in your hearts… but I wonder, if you are this strong, if the you are so close to the light…_

At this, Kaze felt the presence of something large behind him.

_How great are your shadows?_

Kaze turned. Behind him was a gigantic creature, humanoid, but still one of the shadows. Its head consisted of tendrils, and, Kaze realized, it continued to rise, rising from his shadow. Its chest was hollow, missing a chunk of shadow-flesh in the shape of a heart.

Behind it, he saw two others, erupting from his friends.

"Terrific," Kaze spat. And, without a word, he leapt at the massive shadow.

The world seemed a blur, and each flash was an attack. The creature swung its giant hands at him, he jumped to avoid it. He ran, escaping violet bursts of energy shooting from the gap in the creature's chest. He struck at the creature's wrists and, at the times he could, the creature's head. Jump. Roll. Slash. Parry. Duck. The world had become monosyllabic as he fought the creature.

Only one thing managed to break him out of this deadly, mind-consuming dance, and that was a scream.

He couldn't tell who it came from, but the scream was a dash of cold water on his head. He looked left and right, seeing both Hino and Koori struggle, and lose, against their own monsters.

Without a thought, he leapt up and drove the Keyblade into his monster's head. As it fell over and seemed to melt back into the shadow, Kaze leapt into action.

He truly wasn't thinking, he just jumped at whichever monster moved first. As luck had it, it was Hino's. He growled in rage as he sprang at the creature, whacking its wrist out of the way as Hino struck the other wrist with her hammer. Hammer and Keyblade met the monster, seemingly in unison, until Kaze managed to slash once and drive the creature to its knees.

Not even looking to see if this monster was down, he ran towards the last, leaping forward and bringing the Keyblade down on the monster's head in a single strike. The monster, dazed, stepped back, and, without word or plan, Koori's saber, Hino's hammer, and Kaze's Keyblade all struck the creature's head, and it too fell to the ground, dissolving into shadow.

The three of them managed to get in a single shared grin, before suddenly, the world shook. More and more geysers of black erupted into the sky, pouring out shadow monsters as it did so. Cracks formed in the roadways, and the sky became a maelstrom of darkness.

Kaze felt himself being lifted up, and, in doing so, he grabbed Hino and Koori before he was thrown into the sky. Each one of them held onto the other two with all their might as they were tossed upward and twirled around through shadow and light.

It was a credit to their determination that they held on as long as they did, but it was to no avail. Their grips failed, and the three of them were scattered.

Kaze screamed their names in anguish until he blacked out.

* * *

Nanaki patrolled the dark streets. It had been several months since his group of survivors landed on the abandoned world and by now, the settlement of Traverse Town was a bustling community. One of the worst aspects of this new world, if only one could be settled on, was that it was always night. No sun ever shown on Traverse Town. The stars were all bright and close, sure, but it paled in comparison to daylight. An electrical system had, as of that moment, not been created, although Cait Sith, an expert engineer, was working on one. As such, only candlelight illuminated the town's streets. Nanaki, with a torch built into his tail, had volunteered to do nightly patrols of the city.

Nanaki sniffed the air. There was a recent disturbance in the air. He could not identify exactly what happened. All he could decipher was that there was an unfamiliar human nearby and that he was not there a second ago.

Nanaki had known that the shadows could appear at will, and perhaps they could allow others to do the same. He ran to the source of the smell.

Almost instantly, his anxious worry faded, concerned worry taking over. Lying in an alley, breathing, thankfully, but with sharp, irregular, ragged breaths, was a young male human. Nanaki realized that, in human years, he was about as mature as he was, even though his years on the planet were about one-third of his. Gently, Nanaki nudged the boy with his paw. "Are you all right?"

The human groaned, before saying, "I've been better" in a hoarse, tired voice.

"You look it," Nanaki said, looking at the dust on the human's blue and green clothes, "Something bad must have happened."

"I'll say…" the boy rolled over, trying to block out consciousness.

"Well, you will be safe here in Traverse Town…" Nanaki tried to reassure the boy.

This had the opposite of the intended effect, instantly, the boy forgot his pain and looked frantically around, panicking as he realized the sights were unfamiliar. Then he turned to face Nanaki.

He screamed and scooted himself to the wall of the alley.

Nanaki looked surprised, "What's wrong?"

Instantly, a weapon appeared in the boy's hand as he tried, with minimal success, to look threatening. "Stay back! I don't know exactly WHAT you freaks did, but I'm not going to let you do it again!"

Nanaki turned his head. "What are you talking about?"

"The shadow monsters! You stole their hearts! You broke it! God damn it, you broke the world!"

Nanaki understood, and was shocked, "The Heartless! They destroyed your world, too!"

The boy blinked, though his grip on the weapon did not waver. "What? Heartless? That's what they're called?"

Nanaki nodded, "They have no hearts, and consume the hearts of others, turning them into creatures like themselves. If they breed so intensely, the world collapses, falls into Darkness…"

The boy sank to his knees. When he finally spoke, it was but a whisper, "Everything's gone… My parents… my friends… everything I ever knew has been erased…" he turned to face Nanaki, "And they did that to your world, too?"

Nanaki nodded.

"Are all people from your world talking lions?"

Nanaki chuckled in spite of himself, "No, I'm an oddity even on my home world… Come, this is Traverse Town, a place for refugees. I'm Nanaki."

"Kaze," the boy replied.

"Let's see if we can't get you settled in, Kaze."

The bar was not Rosa's ideal hospital, but the town being in development, she had to make do with what she could. With her current patients taken care of, she began to

The bell above the door chimed, signaling the door being opened. Rosa saw the familiar shape of Nanaki saunter in, followed by a tense looking boy dressed in blue. The boy relaxed upon seeing Rosa.

"I wasn't expecting another human, after seeing Nanaki…" the boy said, his relaxation instantly fading to a haggard expression. He then took a seat on the barstool, "If you could give me something strong, I'd appreciate it."

Rosa raised an eyebrow, "You don't look a day over fourteen, kid."

"Fifteen. And since my world just ended, I think that means I've aged about ten years in the last five minutes…" and with that, his head hit the bar and he seemed to have no inclination to raise it.

"I found Kaze in an alley. He's another refugee, like us. The Heartless got to his world, too…" Nanaki stated.

Rosa gasped, "Poor thing…" Taking a hand, she lifted Kaze's face to meet hers, "Listen, I don't think the right thing to do here is to drown your problems in alcohol… but I'll tell you what, perhaps if we can get some food and drink in you, you'll find yourself better able to cope?" Rosa said.

Normally, Kaze would have balked at such treatment, saying it was too childish, but now, he found some comfort in it, "That… that sounds nice…"

Rosa left, Kaze stewing in silence. When she returned with a hefty slice of blueberry pie and a chocolate milkshake, Kaze ate them with the fervor of a starving man. Rosa looked on with surprise, but took it as a compliment. As the boy started wiping up the crumbs and eating them, an idea struck him.

"Am I the only one from my world here?" Kaze said.

"As far as we know," Nanaki said.

"I don't know how exactly I came to be here, but two others were in the same place as me before I blacked out. Both girls. Hino's shorter than me, reddish brown hair, green eyes, really…" he tried to find the polite way to say it, "…well endowed. Koori's taller than me. She's got blonde hair, blue eyes, and skinny as a rail. Did either of them show up here?" Kaze said, quickly.

Rosa processed that information, before shaking her head, "No one like that is here… though we will tell you straight away if anything happens…"

Nanaki went to the door. "I'll go back on patrol."

"I'm going, too," Kaze said, getting up.

Nanaki blinked, "What?"

"The chance that anyone besides me survived that cataclysm is slim, but if I ended up here, there's a chance someone else did. If I go with you, then there's a chance we might find them."

Nanaki looked at the boy, who went from scared little boy to hardened warrior in the span of five minutes, then chuckled, "You seem like you're bipolar, kid. But, yeah, you're right. Let's go…"

They started to saunter over, but the door busted open, and a large black man with a gun for a right arm entered the room, "We've got trouble!"

Nanaki's gaze hardened, "Heartless, Barrett?"

Barrett sighed, "What else is there?"

Nanaki turned to Kaze, "Can you fight?"

Kaze formed a fist, and his Keyblade appeared in it unconsciously, "I can try…"

* * *

Slash. Block. Parry. Dodge.

Prince Walt was no stranger to fighting. The weapons master called him a combat genius, and was ranked highest in combat practice. Unfortunately, there's a difference between practice and real life.

Scowling as two creatures rose from where he had previously destroyed one, Walt flung his rapier through one and clobbered another with his shield. His ears twitched, and he did an impressive back flip over a shadow that was trying for a sneak attack, then plunged his blade into the monster's head.

"Do…" he slashed another monster, "you…" he blocked one's claws, "things…" he struck another, "ever…" he grunted as one nearly knocked him on the head, "STOP!"

Suddenly, a fireball struck one of the shadows, which dispersed in a cloud of smoke.

"No, they do not…" Said the one who threw the fireball, a red beast. Behind him, a human boy gripped what looked like a large key.

Instantly, the two of them joined the battle.

Walt could only stare at the two of them as they ripped through the creatures. The red beast was no stranger to the field of battle, and his claws and teeth tore through the shadows with expert strength. The human boy, however, was totally new to the art of combat. Luckily, though, his key-weapon was unbelievably effective. He barely swiped at the monsters and they disappeared en masse. It took about a minute for them to clear the town square of monsters.

All three were panting heavily, before the boy looked to him and said, "Are you okay… whoa!" he apparently only just noticed that the person he was saving was a three-foot tall humanoid mouse, wearing a purple and blue uniform.

Walt grinned, "I'm fine, thanks to you… I'm Walt."

The boy nodded, "I'm Kaze."

"Nanaki," the red beast responded.

As soon as the introductions were done, however, more creatures appeared.

"Never give up, do they?" Walt said in a tone that was half jovial, half exasperated.

"Heartless never do," Nanaki said solemnly.

Kaze felt a twinge of fear. These new Heartless made the creatures he just obliterated look like kittens. They stood about as tall as Walt, and were covered with armor, their hollow yellow eyes peering out from metal knight's helmets. He swung at one and scowled at the fact that it wasn't destroyed. Resigning himself to fate, he kept clobbering it.

As he continued to fight, he began to realize there was a problem… the monsters were getting too many hits on him, he was bleeding, he was tired… he almost felt like he would once again pass out…

"Kaze!" a green light shone on him, and Kaze found his wounds healed and his energy restored. He looked to the source, Nanaki. Grinning, he set about destroying the rest of the hordes.

It didn't take long for them to clear the district of the Heartless once more, and Walt pulled out a green energy drink, offering two more, "Potion?"

Kaze took one, feeling unbelievably refreshed afterwards.

"That was too easy…" Nanaki said.

"You were obviously in a different battle than me…" Kaze said.

"No, you haven't fought Soldier Heartless as long as I have. They're different from Shadow Heartless, stronger and more determined. They put up less of a fight… So either their weakening or…"

"Or?" Walt pressed.

"Or that was simply to wear us down for something bigger…"

And, with that, both Nanaki's and Walt's ears twitched, "Something's coming," the mouse said.

"What?" Kaze asked, then he heard a resounding crash. A creature he previously thought was fantasy now stood in the town square. It was a dragon, about twelve feet tall, a poisonous green color with yellow belly scales. Its arms and legs ended in tapered claws and a long, zigzagged tail emerged from its back. Two utterly useless wings emerged from his shoulders. Its face had a large underbite and huge fangs protruding from it. A shock of purple hair emerged from its top, along with two long ears. Most distinctive were its chest, which sported a symbol of a stylized black heart with a red X through it, and its eyes, which were a hollow yellow.

It was a Heartless Dragon.

Immediately, it struck, opening its mouth and unleashing a breath of fire that threatened to engulf the three warriors, at least, if the three of them had not dodged.

Kaze growled and charged, swinging the Keyblade to the dragon, slashing the symbol on its chest. While it seemed in pain, the dragon merely turned and smacked Kaze out of the way with his tail. Kaze was sent flying.

Tensing up, Nanaki sent another fireball, heading straight to the dragon. This gave the monster much more distress, causing it to stagger back. In doing so, Walt, with speed that surprised everyone there, charged forward and stabbed the dragon with his rapier.

The sword instantly broke in half.

Choking in shock, the mouse then brought his shield up to block the dragon's claws, then threw the broken sword away, struggling to figure out what to do next.

Nanaki jumped up and slashed at the yellow eyes with his claws, enraging the dragon to cause him to stumble back. Kaze ran up and slashed the dragon's belly multiple times as the monster stumbled back. Suddenly tired of taking the damage, the dragon swatted Kaze away, sending him sprawling.

Kaze groaned as he got up, and found himself face to ugly face with the dragon, its mouth open and tongue licking its lips, it surged forward to bite him.

Kaze tensed, anticipating a bite that never came. He heard a CLANG! sound, and looked up to see that Walt had sprang over. The dragon was now biting down on the mouse's shield. Enraged, the dragon reared up and tried to shake the mouse off. While he was thrown like a rag doll, the mouse's grip on his shield never wavered.

Nanaki sent forth another fireball, causing the dragon to spit out the shield, throwing the mouse a great distance.

Kaze reached forward and caught Walt before he would have landed on the hard stone surface. Kaze then whispered, "Trip him up."

Walt looked oddly at him, but figured it was worth a shot. The dragon then began charging forward. Walt then ran straight at him, then took his shield and, using the momentum from his charge, threw it on the ground and slid like he was on a sled.

As they were about to meet, Walt then took his shield and lifted it up, causing the dragon to hit it with his left leg, sending him careening forward.

As this happened, Kaze then jumped onto the dragon's back, slicing it up, the dragon wailing in pain. It tried to roll over, but as soon as he tried, Kaze jumped off.

"Guys! Its belly is heavily guarded, but its BACK isn't! Hit him from behind!" Kaze yelled.

Instantly realizing the reason behind the boy's experiment, Walt whistled towards the dragon and gave it a rude gesture. He took off running as the dragon followed in pursuit.

Nanaki fired a series of fireballs to the dragon's fading back, all connecting and sending the monster stumbling, before Kaze ran up and continued to hit it with the Keyblade. He felt the monster turn to bite him, but Walt, bless his agile soul, jumped up to the dragon's head and began pulling his hair. As the dragon roared, Nanaki reached to its back and sunk his claws and fangs into it, reaching up, Kaze sent another strike into the dragon.

Instantly, the dragon squawked and landed on the ground with a ferocious THUD! As it lay there, a giant luminescent heart rose from its body, causing the dragon to fade into nothingness.

Immediately, all warriors sank to the ground.

* * *

"So, you all come from worlds that have been destroyed by these Heartless?" Walt asked in between bites of food.

Barrett had come back with reinforcements, just to see the tail end of the battle and see one of his best friends and two unfamiliar beings destroy a giant dragon. Slinging them over his shoulders, he brought them back to Rosa's bar to replenish their strength. After their injuries were evaporated with a quick Cure spell, Rosa set to cooking them up a delicious meal.

The woman could cook. And, as Kaze saw while being flung over Barrett's shoulder, she could fight, too. She had, using only eruptions of a white and green energy, destroyed an army of the Soldier Heartless while they were returning to the bar.

Heck, it reminded Kaze, strikingly, of Hino. Their eyes, their equal abilities in the home and the battle field, their… he stopped those thoughts before he had a nosebleed. He grabbed a biscuit and nodded to Walt's question, "I just got here, in fact. The Keyblade I wield seems to destroy them."

Nanaki swallowed a large piece of meat, "They conquer other worlds and move on to the next. They're like a plague on all worlds. We set up this town as a refuge for those who lost worlds to the Heartless."

Walt looked thoughtful, "We don't have these Heartless on my world, but we do have problems. The ruling class on our world recently all succumbed to an illness, and we're teetering on the edge of civil war. I came to find a place to import those who wouldn't want that…"

Barrett got up, "We ain't got no problems with you bringin' people here. We'll welcome anyone. We need help getting this dump together…"

Walt stared into space, "I've got a ship… it's very experimental… I don't know how many people I could bring onto it… but it could take me back to my home world and bring back some people who don't want war."

Kaze blinked, then turned to Nanaki, "Wait a minute, you said those Heartless things spread from world to world… Do you know of any others?"

Barrett responded, as Nanaki was eating, "Went all over the freaking universe tryin' to find the right world. Almost all of them were up to their ying-yangs in Heartless. Or else, they were getting there…"

Kaze summoned the Keyblade, "I can use this thing to destroy them… Maybe…" he turned to Walt, "Could I use your ship to go to these other worlds and save them?"

Walt balked at such a request, "What! Why do you…"

Kaze puffed up his chest, "The Heartless destroyed my world. I can either sit here and live here till I die of old age, or I can go places and make the Heartless pay for messing up my home, and prevent anyone else from having to lose their home and all their friends…"

There was a pause, and Nanaki said, "I'm coming, too."

Everyone stared at him, and Barrett exploded, "You crazy! We need you here, you furry little bastard!"

"I too want to prevent the Heartless from taking any other worlds. I'm sorry, Barrett, but I would rather deal with the root cause of this problem than just the symptoms. I'll prevent the Heartless from making new refugees, rather than just protecting the refugees…"

There was a pause, and then Barrett said, "Y'know, Red, you always manage to put me in my place. Hell, I'd go WITH you now, if only I wasn't needed here…"

Walt stared, and said, sternly, "So, you're here, planning on going to other worlds, only out of the goodness of your hearts, to save other worlds with no benefit to yourselves. And to do so, you're relying on me to forego my own people to chauffer you along in my ship from world to world, and risking my own neck to help you two battle Heartless. And you expect me to agree to this?"

Kaze and Nanaki stared, before Kaze said, sheepishly, "Uh… yes?"

Walt smiled, "Sounds good, I'll do it."

Kaze and Nanaki were both shocked.

"You know that battle we just had? That was the most fun I've had in a long time. And if not for you two, I'd have been killed, if not by the Shadows, then by the Soldiers, or by the Dragon. I owe you. And I intend to give on that debt," Walt sighed, "And, to tell the truth, my intentions in coming here weren't as altruistic as they seem. I really just wanted to save my own hide…"

Nanaki started, "But you said that–"

Walt raised a hand to interrupt, "I know what I said. But the truth is that there's an infinitesimally small number of people on my world who'd be willing to escape until there's a total, all-out war, and even then most will be stubborn and stay there. And my ship is too small to really carry my people here en masse. I've been saying that this is for my people, but that's wrong. It's just for myself… You two actually want to do this for others. That's something I want to be able to say. So, yes, I'll take you."

They all paused, then Kaze said, "I have two friends. They were with me when the world was destroyed. I know if anyone from my world survived, it was them. I may want to destroy the Heartless and make them pay, but I really want to find them. So, I'm just not some hero who wants to save the world. I really want to find them…"

Nanaki joined in, "My race has protected Cosmo Canyon, a village on my world, for millennia. I am the first to ever fail to protect it. It isn't altruism for me, it's guilt. Guilt that I failed, guilt that I want to erase…"

They all looked at each other. Then Walt said, "Well, if we're all selfish bastards, it make me feel better for being around you. What do you say?"

They all nodded, and Walt said, "But before we go… I've got to replace my sword…"

They all got a chuckle out of that, and then proceeded to finish their food.


	3. Kaze's New Groove

Kaze opened the door to the shop, holding the door for Walt and Nanaki. The boy then looked around at his surroundings.

Weapons surrounded him. Staffs and swords and axes and spears and flails and maces and gods knew what else were all around him. He shuddered instinctively.

Walt, on the other hand, looked like a hobo who had just seen an unguarded ham sandwich. "Wow," he exclaimed in a whisper. Kaze wondered if he imagined the drool. In any case, Walt wandered over to the counter, which was occupied by the town's signature stuffed cat.

Nanaki looked over to the human boy, "You're nervous. You shouldn't be. All of these are displays. Cait Sith is concerned about someone taking a sword from a stand and robbing him with it. None of these could hurt more than a beetle."

Kaze nearly jumped, "I just don't like places like this…"

"You are a warrior. Shouldn't you be familiar with weapons?" Nanaki asked.

Kaze looked to the ground. "I've been a warrior for about a day. I used to just be an ordinary kid. Suddenly, I stepped into a dark tunnel, fought some Heartless, and I was given this… this thing…" he willed the Keyblade into existence, looking at it was interest and disdain.

Nanaki raised his good eyebrow, "You performed with bravery. You strategize well. I assumed you were trained."

"I didn't know what I was doing. I just went into battle without thinking. Until you showed up with that… Wait, what DID you do back there? That green light? I thought I was gonna pass out…" Kaze questioned Nanaki.

"I simply used a Cure spell on you," Nanaki stated.

Kaze choked, "Cure spell! What you did was magic!"

Nanaki nodded curiously, "Of course. You didn't recognize it?"

Kaze shook his head furiously, "No! I thought magic was a fairy tale! You can cast magic?"

Nanaki smirked slightly, "You think those fireballs weren't magic?"

Kaze glared at him without malice, "Your tail is ON fire. It wasn't that much of a stretch to you throwing fireballs…"

Nanaki nodded, "I see your point…" Then he pondered for a bit, "Would you like to cast magic yourself?"

Kaze sighed, "I would LOVE to cast magic myself."

"You can do it…" Nanaki said.

Kaze blinked.

"Your Keyblade is obviously a magical device. It could serve as a focus to let you cast spells. My species is inherently magical, so I act as my own focus, using my headdress as an amplifier. You have the focus to cast spells; you just need the power…"

Kaze absorbed that, and then asked, "How can I get the power?"

Nanaki closed his eye and concentrated. Kaze felt a burning sensation in his extremities for a few seconds, before Nanaki stated, "It is done."

Kaze blinked, "What the…"

Nanaki opened his eye, "You now wield the power of Fire. I am skilled enough in that magic to give it to you. I could not do the same with, say, the healing magic."

Kaze blinked and looked at his Keyblade, "I can't wait to try it…"

As the boy and beast were ruminating, Walt walked over to Cait Sith, whose Moogle-like steed waved alongside the cat.

"Good afternoon," Walt said to the odd stuffed cat.

"Afternoon already, lad? Here I thought it was still morning, Eh, time ain't too consistent here. What can I do for ya?" The cat said cheerfully.

"Well, I was out combating a massive drake in your town's commons, though in the fray, my rapier was rendered in twain…"

"What was that laddie?"

"My sword broke," Walt said simply, dropping his noble act for a second, before returning, "But, since I am about to stride headfirst into certain peril, I thought that beforehand, I would be wise to acquire new armaments before my journey could commence…"

"What?"

"I need to buy a new sword," Walt said, clearing his throat.

"Ah, certainly, lad!" Cait said, "What can I get for ya?"

Walt stroked his chin, "I've always wanted to try out a flamberge…"

Cait shook his head, "Sorry, lad, we've no flamberges…"

Walt nodded, "No worries, a claymore then…"

"Never at this time of year, lad. They make 'me hot from the smithy in several months…"

"Well then, sir, a trusty falchion, if you don't mind!"

"Been on order for weeks, I was expecting them today…"

Walt frowned, "Not my lucky day, is it? Then I'll try a cutlass…"

"Sorry, lad."

"Saber?"

"Sold the last one yesterday."

"Ah. Scimitar?"

"No."

"Shamshir?"

"No…"

"Grossmesser?"

"No."

"Kreigsmesser?"

"… No."

"Barong?"

"No"

"Katar?"

"Sorry…"

"You do have SOME swords here?"

"Of course! We have…" Cait began.

"Oh, don't bother; I want to guess on my own… Gladius?"

"No…"

"Dao?"

"No…"

"Jian?"

"No…"

"Zwiehander?"

"Ah, yes, we have a zwiehander!" Cait said, jumping up.

"Excellent. I'll take it straight away!" Walt said, clapping his hands.

Cait looked below the counter and said, "Uh, its heavy…"

"I like heavy weapons," the mouse responded.

"No, I mean it's REALLY heavy…"

"No matter. Fetch me der Schwert auf Deutschland, bitte!"

"Well… I actually think it's heavier than you can lift…"

"You'd be surprised, sir," Walt said, any form of glee fading, "Now hand it over!"

Cait said, "Certainly, I'll… oh no, lad, termites got into the handle!"

"Termites." Walt said doubtfully.

"Real mess of a problem round these parts."

Walt sighed, "Nodachi?"

"No…"

"Odachi?"

"… No…"

"Kodachi?"

"Not today, lad…"

"Spadone?"

"Nope"

"Pulwar?"

"Never on Wednesdays, sir…"

"Tulwar?"

Cait thought on that for a while before saying, "No…"

"Kris? Dirk? Espada? Rapier? Epee? Cinquedea? Estoc? Shaska? Maquahuitl? Katzbalger? Bolo?"

"No…"

"Bastard sword?"

"Yes?"

"Excellent! I'll take it!"

"Oh no, lad, I thought you said 'Bastard store', like, you were asking if the store was a bastard to run. It sure is."

"…" Walt stared at the robot cat.

"You didn't ask about butterfly swords…"

"…Is it worth it?" Walt asked tersely.

"Only one way to find out…"

"Fine. Have you any butterfly swords?"

"No sir."

"Not a surprise there. Well, let's keep it simple… how about a katana?"

"I don't get much call for the katana here, lad…"

"Don't get…" Walt exploded, "It's only the most popular sword in use EVER!"

"Not round this town, lad," Cait responded.

"So… tell me… what is the most popular sword round THIS town?"

"That'd be the Onion Sword, lad."

"Onion Sword…" Walt placed his face in his palm, "So, do you have any of THOSE?"

"Yyyyyyno…" Cait responded.

"Well, that was to be expected. Foolish to even pose the question…" Walt took his hand off his face, "Tell me, do you have ANY swords in this shop?"

"Of course, lad!"

"Really?"

"No, not really, lad. I've been deliberately wasting your time here…"

There was a pause and then Walt said, "You realize if you had any swords here, I'd use them to DECAPITATE you…"

"I'm aware of that, lad."

* * *

Kingdom Hearts: Origins  
Written by Ryan Griffin  
Kingdom Hearts and all elements within are the properties of Square-Enix and Disney. All characters from the Final Fantasy series are the properties of Square-Enix. Kaze, Hino, Koori, and Prince Walt are my own creations and may not be used without my permission.

* * *

The three of them left the shop in disgust.

"Tough break, huh?" Walt and Kaze stopped with a start as they turned to see a figure behind them.

It was a young man, a few years older than Kaze. He was incredibly lithe and wiry, and his fingers kept twitching. He wore simple blue pants and a blue vest over a white tank top, and his hair fell in bangs over a blue headband. He smiled at the three of them.

Nanaki knew this man, "Locke. How are you faring you old thief?"

Locke looked at them with disgust, "That's treasure hunter, Red, and don't you forget that…" ignoring the beast, he crouched down to see Walt eye to eye, "So, you need a sword, huh?"

Walt snorted, "Yeah, and if this backwater place had a decent smithy, I'd be able to get one…"

Locke shrugged, "No one here really can work as a blacksmith… but, my own particular skills can come in handy in this circumstance…" he reached into a small bag and, amazingly, was able to pull out a four-foot long sword from it. As Walt and Kaze gaped, he handed the blade to Walt, "Take a look at it. Hold it for a bit, and see how you like it…"

Walt unsheathed the blade, and liked how it fell into his palm, how its weight fit his swings perfectly, and he asked, "What kind of sword is this?"

Locke smiled, "THAT is an Onion Sword…"

Walt boggled, "This? But I thought…"

"… Onion Swords would be weak little things? Mostly yeah, they are, but not this one… this is an original, plucked it out of some cavern in the middle of nowhere… kept amazingly well."

Walt sheathed it and said, "This is perfect… How can I thank you?"

In a blink, Locke had swiped the sword back and flippantly said, "Ten thousand munny…"

Kaze made a choking sound.

Walt, however, just took out a bag and said, "Done."

Now, Kaze gasped and actually did choke on his own spittle. Walt slapped him on the back until he coughed and started breathing again, "Where… where'd you get that kind of munny!"

Walt looked conflicted, and then looked to Nanaki, whose single eye burned him accusingly, and he said shyly, "On my world… I'm nobility. Ten thousand munny's really not a lot for my family… I'm still poorer than other clans, but…"

"But you are no church mouse," Nanaki finished.

"Why didn't you tell us before?" Kaze said.

"I… didn't want you to think I was… different…"

Kaze said, "You're a talking mouse, he's a red lion thing with a flame at the end of his tail, and I'm a guy with a big key sword, and you were worried about that!"

Walt sighed, "Look, can we just get on with it?"

Locke was finished counting through the munny before he turned to Kaze, "Wait, key sword? You're not the one Barrett was talking about back at the bar, were you?"

Kaze stood up, "Word spreads quickly, I guess. Kaze."

Locke took his hand, "Nice to meet you. Believe me; anyone who can take on those Heartless is fine by me. Hope all goes well…"

Nanaki nodded, "I will make sure that it does."

Locke looked at the beast, and said, "So, you're leaving?"

Nanaki nodded, "I must. If I do not, I will be unable to live with my failures."

Locke shrugged, "You did as well as all of us, Red…" he turned to Kaze, "You're a bit young for this sort of thing, kid…"

Kaze nodded, "I know, but this key has a power I don't understand. And this power is deadly to the Heartless, so that means I can bring these guys down…"

Locke smirked, "Well, I'll give you something to help you along…" and he began fishing through his pockets.

Nanaki blinked, or winked, given his one eye, "You… you don't mean…"

Locke extracted a red gemstone, and held it out. Kaze extended his hand, and Locke dropped the gem into it, "That's just about the only freebee you'll ever get from me, kid…"

Nanaki was flabbergasted, "You'd willingly give her up?"

Locke shrugged, "It's a disservice to let her stay her, cooped up in that thing…" he turned to Kaze, "Now, kid, listen up. A good friend of mine fell to the Heartless, but she was too strong for them to take her. She turned into this. I'm pretty sure she's still in there, but I don't know how to get her out. I trust Nanaki. He's got a good head on his shoulders, and he wouldn't trust you without a good reason. I think you'll be able to free her. And I'm sure she'd be able to help you out. So, take good care of her…"

Kaze stared at the gem, taking in the words and the significance of the gift. He then looked to his belt. Without a word, he pried one of the clear stones off of it and replaced it with the red gem.

"I'll take care of her."

Locke darkened his expression, "You better".

* * *

"Oh my…" Kaze touched the ship, and was surprised to see it jiggle upon contact, like a plate of gelatin. 

"We call those Gummis back where I come from," Walt said, "It's about the only material available that can travel well through interspace."

Nanaki scratched his ear with his hind leg, and then said, "This might be a boon to our people. The materials we used did not travel very well. By the time we reached this place, the ships were falling apart."

Walt nodded, "The humans on my world had all sorts of magic and technology that they used together, this ship is just one example…"

Kaze noted Walt's words, "You said had…"

Walt sighed, "Yeah… I did…"

Kaze and Nanaki looked at each other.

"Let's get in," Walt said.

Both did so, and found that the vessel was much larger than it looked from the outside. There were actually three suitable quarters for creatures their size, or even much bigger if necessary.

"Cockpit's this way…"

Of all of the ship, the cockpit was perhaps the most interesting. There were three seats, each of which looked like they would fit the tall boy and the quadruped as easily as they would fit the mouse.

Walt looked to them, and said, "Well, we have a lot of variety among my people… we wanted to make sure no one would be uncomfortable…"

"Huh," Kaze finally uttered.

Walt took out a small disk, "Barrett gave me this… it's a star chart with worlds designated on them…

He popped the disk into a slot, and on a screen appeared a group of worlds, each scattered through space, represented by odd looking symbols.

"So… where to?"

Realizing Walt was asking him, Kaze pointed to the world that looked oddest to him, a symbol of a rising sun made of gold.

Walt nodded, and punched a few buttons, "Strap yourselves in, fellas, this is gonna be a bumpy ride…"

* * *

With a small flash of light, the mouse, the beast, and boy all landed near a village high in a mountain. The air was cool and crisp, with lowland jungles visible beneath. 

Kaze celebrated by losing his lunch.

Walt, in response, rushed over and patted him on the back, "Are you all right?"

Kaze coughed, and then took a large leaf off a nearby tree and wiped off his mouth, "That was not a pleasant experience… what was that?"

Walt shook his head, "It's a teleporter. We use it to travel to places with a high concentration of mana, which tends to be near settlements of sentient beings."

Nanaki looked out into the distance, observing the small village consisting of nondescript huts, "We have been here…"

Kaze and Walt looked at the beast oddly.

"This was one of the places where we stopped; trying to find a place to live after our home world was destroyed."

Kaze looked at the place, "Seems like a nice world, why'd you leave?"

"It wasn't our choice… we sent a group, led by Barrett, to find the ruler of this world and beseech him to let us form a settlement. He refused, and we were forced to leave. We left a world torn apart by war; we did not wish to start another."

Kaze nodded, "I can understand… there were Heartless here, right?"

Nanaki nodded, "We warned this kingdom's Emperor of the plague of Heartless and how it was quickly spreading. He was uninterested, and dismissed it as irrelevant."

Walt snorted, "Sounds like a pretty pathetic leader."

Kaze nodded, "In any case, we'd better find out where the Heartless are concentrated and try and prevent them getting a stranglehold on this world…"

With that, Nanaki and Walt's ears twitched. Kaze raised his eyebrows, before he too heard a warping sound, and saw shadows move through the underbrush.

Without a word, one of them pounced.

Kaze managed to shake it off with the Keyblade, and he got a good look at it. It was a cat, about Nanaki's size. If not for the smoky smell and the hollow yellow eyes, he might have said it was a normal black panther, but it was obvious what this creature was.

Kaze ran and smacked the thing with the Keyblade, which caused the thing to yelp as the key struck it. It reached at Kaze with his claws, but Walt rushed forward and raised his shield, blocking it. Nanaki leapt over them into the brush, going claw-to-claw with the Heartless cats. Walt and Kaze raised their swords and kept cutting into the cat until it relented, showering them in gold and green orbs. Kaze looked to Nanaki, outnumbered by the cats, and tried to rush over and help him. Unfortunately, more cats ran in the way, snarling as they encircled Kaze. Upon seeing Nanaki fall, Kaze looked to his Keyblade.

"Hope this works…" he concentrated on the Fire power he knew now lived inside him, trying to channel it, as he continued, a cat leapt up towards him.

Without even thinking, Kaze shot a fireball from the end of the Keyblade into its stomach, destroying it.

Blinking at his discovery, he aimed the blade at a cat about to claw up Nanaki and fired another blast, sending the cat flying, then dissolving into the gold and green orbs.

Laughing, he kept firing fireball after fireball into the cats, until, he was facing another cat. With a manic grin, he aimed the Keyblade.

With some dismay, he found out that his magical power was depleted.

Suddenly, he realized that the cats were converging on him. Walt and Nanaki were on the edge of the group, but it was taking a while. Kaze slashed through one of the cats, destroying it. He gulped as he realized that he wouldn't be able to get through all of them.

He prayed for a miracle.

And he was somewhat surprised when he received one.

Barreling through the forest came a large man and a small llama, crashing into the horde of cats and sending them flying as the two of them crashed into a boulder nearby.

Exploiting the confusion, the three of them made short work of the cats.

When all of the cats were gone, he reached over to the man and the llama, helping the man up before attending to the llama, "Are you all right?"

"No… touchy…" Kaze noticed the voice was coming from the llama.

"Hmm… so the llamas talk here?" Kaze asked as he dropped the llama, causing him to thump on the hard stone ground

"They did not when I was here…" Nanaki mused.

The man looked about to answer when he saw Nanaki and Walt, his jaw dropped, before turning to Kaze, "Um… I think we've just got a collision of five types of weirdness here…"

Kaze laughed, "Story of my life as of last week… My name's Kaze…"

The man extended his hand, "Pacha," the two of them shook hands.

Walt looked over to the llama, "This little guy looks like he went through the wringer. Poor animal…"

With that, the llama appeared to regain consciousness, "Hey, watch who you're calling animal, fuzzy!"

Nanaki's ears perked up, "That voice sounds familiar…"

The llama righted itself, "Hey… I remember that thing. That's the weird jaguar thing those weirdoes who wanted to live here brought with them!"

Nanaki looked to Kaze with a modicum of alarm, "Hm. It appears we have a little dilemma here."

As soon as he said that, there was another warping of the air and once more, they were surrounded by a pack of cats.

Pacha sighed, "Great, more demon jaguars. Better get ready to run…"

Kaze shook his head, "We're here to get rid of these things. I'm not about to run…" _no matter how much I'd like to…_ Kaze added silently.

Nanaki scratched along his mane and tossed a small vial of blue liquid at Kaze with his mouth, "That's an Ether. It restores your magical strength." And, with that, he ran towards one of the Jaguar Heartless, destroying it.

Kaze drank the Ether, feeling a tingling sensation as he lifted his Keyblade and began slashing at the cats anew. Walt stood by him, covering his back and keeping the panthers at bay as Kaze tore through them.

Once they were finished, seeing Pacha and the llama staring at them stunned, Kaze said, "Let's get out of here before they attack again. Then maybe we can explain our respective weirdnesses."

* * *

Nanaki looked at the llama awkwardly shambling down the dirt path beside them, "So, you are the same Emperor Kuzco that barred us from living here." 

Kuzco spat, "Hey, I'm a busy absolute monarch! Can't let a few weirdoes in some kind of silver bird-machine walk around causing trouble with the common folk…"

Pacha attempted to change the subject, "So those jaguars were actually a type of these things you call Heartless. And if too many of them breed, the whole WORLD could be destroyed?"

Kaze nodded, "It's why we're here."

Pacha shook his head, "I had no idea it was that serious…"

Kuzco snorted, "It's not serious at all. None of my advisors so much as mentioned the Heartless, beyond telling me it was nothing for me to worry about…"

Walt gave him a sideways glare, "Out of curiosity, how many times have your advisors fed that to you?"

Nanaki shook his head, "For all you know, one of them could have done this to you…"

Kuzco laughed, "Please, I hand-picked my advisors myself, and my excellent sense of judgment told me that there was no way I could expect any treachery from them."

Walt and Nanaki shared a knowing glance.

"In any case," Kaze said, "The Heartless are here in this world. If there aren't many of them, that'd actually be a good thing. We'd rather clean this place up before they get out of hand…"

Pacha nodded, "That's always a good idea when you're getting rid of a pest in your home…"

Kuzco grinned, "Hmmm… Maybe you have other ways of getting rid of pests in your home, considering that my future home is, well, all covered with your little village and all…"

Pacha snorted, but Kaze, Walt, and Nanaki screeched to a dead halt.

Finally Kaze asked, "Could you please say that again?"

Kuzco scoffed, "What, are your ears broken? Well, basically, I'm building this colossal and ultra-cool summer home for my birthday extravaganza, but, of course, it just happens to be where Tiny here has his little town thing built, and there was some yelling, and unpleasantness, and now, I'm a llama and he's trying to do some kind of lame Saving-Me-So-I'll-Spare-His village thing…"

Nanaki looked to Pacha, "And you? Is what he says true?"

Pacha sighed, "Well, Kuzco's said repeatedly that he's not going to spare my village… but I can't just LEAVE him here. He doesn't know the way… he almost got killed by those Jaguar Heartless before I showed up…"

Walt said to Kuzco, "And, what have those people done that would give you cause to destroy their homes?"

Kuzco waved a hoof dismissively, "Please. I'm the Emperor, my will is law, their lives are forfeit, yadda yadda yadda. I don't need to explain my actions to you…"

Walt glared at him, "And I don't think I need to waste my time on your little empire. Come on guys…"

With that, he grabbed a hold of one of Kaze's hands and the scruff of Nanaki's neck and walked them off.

"Wait, what's going on?" Kaze said as he and Nanaki struggled against the mouse's startlingly strong grip.

"Did you hear the same things I did? We're going to go through all this trouble to save a tyrant? Let the Heartless consume him and his empire. He shall see how absolute his commands are then…"

Nanaki tried to say something, but he was choking, and Kaze stuttered out, "Well… he doesn't seem cruel… just clueless. Maybe getting a taste of how the other half lives will help him out…"

Walt skidded to a halt and let them go, then said, "Listen guys, you're not like me. You haven't dealt with royalty, but I have. And I know that bozos like that llama emperor have the worst entitlement complex. Those are the worst people to put in a place of power, in charge of peoples lives…"

Nanaki and Kaze looked at each other, and Kaze said, "That may be… but what about Pacha? Maybe Kuzco would have taken away his village, but the Heartless will take his family, his friends, HIM… He shouldn't have to suffer because of his emperor's actions… either directly, or because they piss off the people who can save him…"

Walt's eyes widened, then looked down, ashamed, "I just can't stand people like him…"

Nanaki nodded, "It is a problem we may be faced with, those we save may not always be those who deserve it…"

Kaze sighed, but Nanaki and Walt's ears both twitched. "Heartless," they growled in unison, and the trio took off.

A few token Shadows appeared, but sword, claw, or key cut through them, and they found the main source of the problem.

On a rickety old rope bridge, Kuzco and Pacha were surrounded on all possible sides by Shadows. Pacha took a step back, and his foot broke the old board. It was a miracle he reacted quickly enough to stop from falling through.

Without thinking, Kaze ran towards the duo. Walt called for him to stop, but followed him any way, Nanaki loping off behind him.

Just as Kaze reached the platform, he felt a surge of weird energy tingling through his sword arm, and, acting entirely on instinct, he hurled the Keyblade towards the duo. It flew in arcs like a buzzsaw, cutting through the Heartless like balsa wood.

Kuzco shrieked and jumped into Pacha's arms. Pacha also screamed as the Keyblade stopped within an inch of their faces and then, as if pulled back by an invisible rubber band, spun back and landed in Kaze's open hand.

Kaze stared at his hand as if it did something on its own. Then, looking up, he leapt towards Kuzco and Pacha, hoping to reach them in time and save them.

Nanaki and Walt just approached the bridge, and ran on it just as the combined weight of the five of them proved too much for the old rope. With a resounding snap, the bridge broke entirely and the five of them were sent tumbling into the water below…

**

* * *

Author's Notes** –

All right, it's been a while and the passing of KH2, and this fic is, contrary to the evidence, still alive. I've just been toying with how exactly to make this make a lot more sense with the new additions to canon.

If you're reading this chapter without checking out the previous two first, you are missing out, as they've been nearly completely rewritten.

If anything there isn't clear, it hopefully will become so as I continue writing…


End file.
